A Special People

We fought a war against a nation

who thought they were the Master Race,

and we the untermensch, the sub human race.

Now the world has the chosen people

God's elect and highly favoured,

with land carved out for them.

We are now the gentiles

the Goyim or the pagans.

It would seem that the majority 

of us cannot win as members of he 

Human Race.

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A Seagull

With lightning speed she flew from her nest high on the escarpment

 downward swooping toward the beach and sea below.

Above a sandy beach drawn clean by a receeding sea

as the ocean's tide pulled back to reveal a pristine coastline.

With wings outstretched the seagull hovered momentarily

with eyes surveying all that lay beneath her.

A yellow curled beak and her ...

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Waking Moments

We linger and luxuriate in those first moments before rising,

a time to allow thoughts free rein and to meander.

Dawn seeps through those crevices betwixt curtain and wall,

silhouettes take on the clarity of shapes.

The veil of night is gradually banished before our sight,

a new day beckons our attention and activity.

Yet we remain a while longer holding fast to...

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I sat and listened.....

I sat on the floor of the sitting room

as my parents and grandparents occupied the chairs.

I listened to their adult onversation

as they expressed themselves and their feelings.

A family gathering, sacrosanct and in

the confines of a secluded and safe environment.

I was at an impressionable age

trusting and eager to please.

I listened at...

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Those Sultry Summers

Those sultry summers are here again

with afternoons of siestas and teas.

The only sound is that of rustling palm fronds

in a gentle sea breeze.

Curtains are drawn and blinds pulled

to eliminate the glare of the sun.

A distant radio can be heard 

playing the rythm of a tango from yesteryear.

Memories of one's youth begin to emerge

in the fashi...

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A Cockpit

Not far the town's railway station

there was a council tip.

To be expected it was full 

of a myriad of rubbish.

My cousin and I walked there

on one of our adventures.

We were forever exploring

finding new places of interest.

As we clambered about

we came across a cockpit

of a fighter plane.

The fuselage and wings 

had been removed.

It was no...

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An Open Mind

As our bodies gather the wrinkles of time

and supple skin becomes as parchment,

our mind ferments like a cask of wine

open to the elements of time.

Joints which creak with age

as muscular pain arrives,

we see more clearly the passage of time

and ponder on such changes.

An open mind must remain

the receptacle of hope,

to ward off stagnation and pre...

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Rooms of Gloom

Rooms of gloom where many see out their lives,

where the windows are painted black.

Emptiness and solitude await the final day,

when the room is taken away and the light shines in.

Those last days of gloom in that final room,

rooms of loneliness of being alone.

Friends and family are scattered abroad,

with them the pre deceased.

In these rooms of gloo...

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Prove It ........

We must seek in order to find,

with a perceptive mind.

I am often assailed by others,

when I talk about the Other.

People are often filled with doubt,

then they shout.

Prove to me there is a God,

not knowing that the answer lies in Faith.

Not many are born with a sense of the numinous,

few are taught by teachers with wisdom.

Most are daunted ...

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Return to Oman

From the opening movement of

Rimsky Korsakov's' Scheherazade,

I could see the departure of the dhows,

as they set sail for distant shores,

to India, Africa and beyond.

I climbed the jagged slopes

 of Jebel Akhdar to survey  

the empty quarter.

Amongst the date palm gardens,

I watched the falaj systems as

they meandered they way 

irrigating the par...

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Andalucia

If I can take with me

the sounds of flamenco,

the strains of the classical guitar,

a trickle of water

from the Alhambra,

a sultry summer's heat,

a memory of the mesquita

in Cordoba,

one of Lorca's poems,

the wines of Jerez,

a fresh catch of prawns

from Huelva,

the image of the gitano,

miles of olive groves,

a sea of sunflowers,

a gli...

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The Evil Empire

The United States of America is a frustrated power,

it arrived late on the imperial scene.

Instead of conquest or exploration,

it uses its wealth to buy its needs.

This Empire has no morality in its arsenal,

Guantanamo, Bagram and rendition are its methods.

Along with its lackeys it has spawned nations,

supported dictatorships and fermented unrest.

O...

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Civilised

We are judged by how we live, not who we are,

yet thousands sleep on the street every night.

Memebers of Parliament earn thousands,

and do not represent us.

How can they when they do not live like us?

Ex Servicemen to gave their lives,

immigrants flee persecution.

All washed up as the flotsam of humanity,

on our shores.

The victims of avarice and contem...

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Dinner or Destruction

Dinner to stave off hunger or destruction and you die,

there is no choice but both come from the same sky.

Parachutes glide down from above with a ready made dinner,

but be so very careful as you could be a gonner.

This is American Foreign Policy at its best,

but if you are the recipient it can be quite a test.

Do they know what they are about?

or...

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The Bomb Aimer

In his sights there are buildings,

his order is to destroy them,

he presses a button,

the bombs are released,

he flies back to his base.

Below are those who were his target,

many lie dead by crushed masonry,

others wounded and unconcious,

furniture and shards of glass cover the floor,

a baby cries in a cot.

Back at base the bomb aimer

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Under Canvas

One week of living under canvas,

two soldiers on a military exercise,

was enough to dampen my appetite,

for rough and ready living.

It rained consistently on our canvas,

droplets of water splashed onto us,

our kit was soaked through,

we were cold and permanently damp.

Our rations were sodden,

our sleeping bags and clothes soaked,

we beca...

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Hell's cul de sac

In hell's cul de sac there is no turning back,

as we become pawns on a chess board of white and black.

The thunderous sky sheds no rain,

with relentless attacks to drive us insane.

We live in a concrete cemetry with the unburied,

as we are clad in rags which are sullied.

Those we loved and cherished now have no tomorrow,

hungry and weary I no longer b...

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A Personal Odyssey

The meanderings through a northern industrial landscape,

amidst the drudgery of a bygone revolutions.

My horizons embraced new worlds,

cultures and peoples unlike my own.

I took risks and accepted challenges,

to travel afar leaving behind much unhappiness.

With God's good grace and personal initiatives,

I encountered the ancient suqs of Arabia,

st...

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An Era of Freedom

An era of freedom is about to dawn,

it awakens us as a morning yawn.

In the slumber of night it has laid dormant,

but now it has appeared at this very moment.

Historical precedents are about to be trashed,

as a new world order is being hatched.

The days of colonialisation are past,

so also the alliances of old are smashed.

Democracy in name only, i...

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Juxtaposed

A pilot drops his pay load of bombs.

An artist surveys a landscape and paints it.

Civilians are summarily executed.

A fledgling pianist gives a recital to family and friends.

Hositals are shelled killing sick people.

The writer sits with pen in hand and thinks.

People's homes are bombed to rubble.

A composer puts the final touches to a symphony.

An artill...

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The Armchair

We languish in an easy chair,

with a mind which really does not care.

The world is before us on a box which is given a tepid gaze,

and depending on its content our eyebrows might offer a raise.

From this comfortable chair was my overall view,

 a vista of tragedy which was forever new.

My opinions could be conveniently formed by another,

so there was l...

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Have you ever.......

Have you ever been strip searched in public?

Have you ever been beaten by a rifle butt?

Have you ever been spat on as you pray?

Have you ever been dragged out of your own home?

Have you ever seen your home burned?

Have you ever seen members of your family shot in the back?

Have you ever been forbidden from going to church?

Have you ever felt ill an...

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Emptiness

The earth was without form and void,

a place of emptiness.

It has returned to its original form,

as lost souls we hurtle through space.

Out of darkness into light,

we have lapsed back into darkness.

Creation remains alive in the light,

but humanity dwells in darkness.

Our souls are empty vessels,

we are adrft in a tempestuous sea.

We have lost our wa...

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Donor or Voter

MP's prefer donors to voters

because they want to be property owners.

Our representatives are bought 

before we are caught.

They are there for the money

irrespective of our penury.

A two party state

I do not rate.

If a one party state is a dictatorship

what is a two party state?

When they have their donation

they foresake the nation.

Don't...

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To Rise Again

Events in the Holy Land have been repeated,

as the innocents have yet again been cheated.

Instead of a Roman occupation,

there has been an Israeli occupation.

The Holy Innocents have been slaughtered,

and their parents massacred and their homes routed.

Once again Christ suffers with his people's plight,

as he too was abused and wounded in their sight.

...

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Gaza

O Gaza you have been raped

plundered and ravaged

whilst a dormant world looks on in impotence.

Your mothers hugged their children

as they fell beneath piles of rubble

to decompose then disappear.

Babies in their final bid for life

lie in incubators amid the strife

only to die when the power is out.

Menfolk dig with their bare hands

amidst c...

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Smiles

Look at peoples faces

in a variety of different places.

Seldom is a smile seen,

as if they are in a dream.

People rushing about

as if stifling a shout.

Then a sudden smile emerges

as if from joy or some urges.

A smile is a welcoming sight,

in a darkened room on goes a light.

Smiles transform our very mood

and prevents us from any brood.

When I see...

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